McDonald, Wilson win BWI/YALSA Collection Development Grants

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CHICAGO — Jennifer McDonald, youth services librarian at the Lafayette (N.Y.) Public Library and Carrie Wilson, teen services librarian at the Altadena (Calif.) Library District won the 2014 BWI/YALSA Collection Development Grant, administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association (ALA).

Each receives a grant of $1,000, donated by BWI, for collection development. The grant recipients are YALSA members who represent a public library and work directly with young adults ages 12–18.

McDonald will use the grant to acquire current young adult fiction and nonfiction to support new programming. She also plans to begin a collaborative gaming program and grow a graphic novel base and curriculum support for middle and high school students.

“Lafayette young adults currently have few choices besides their school library, to locate appropriate literature for their age group,” McDonald said. “By increasing the number of e-books we offer to teens, we hope to increase the number of teens who use the library, even if they do not have to come to the library to check them out.”

Wilson’s goal is to increase the young adult Spanish fiction collection. She plans to purchase the most popular teen fiction titles from authors that community teens enjoy, to allow teens to read for fun and to retain their Spanish skills. While this collection would thus consist largely of translated works of fiction, she plans to purchase works originally published in Spanish for teens as well.

“Young adults deserve a variety of materials for recreation and information, and Spanish-speaking teens deserve to have materials available in Spanish as well as English,” Wilson said. “Whether they are currently fluent in English or are English-learners, they deserve to have access to books that will enrich and educate them, and to encourage them to retain and increase their ability to read fluently in Spanish.”

The application form and information for next year’s BWI/YALSA Collection Development Grant are available on the YALSA Awards and Grants website, www.ala.org/yalsa/awards&grants. Applications must be submitted online by Dec. 1, 2014.

For more than 50 years, YALSA has worked to build the capacity of libraries and librarians to engage, serve and empower teens. For more information about YALSA or to access national guidelines and other resources go to www.ala.org/yalsa, or contact the YALSA office by phone, (800) 545-2433, ext. 4390, or e-mail, yalsa@ala.org.